This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of supplemental dietary curcumin on post-partum uterine involution using pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonography in postpartum goats. Ten pluriparous Zaraibi goats were used and divided into two groups. Group 1 (n = 5; control) received only a base diet. Group 2 (n = 5; treated) received a base diet supplemented with curcumin (200 mg/kg diet) daily for 28 days, starting from day 1 postpartum (PP) till day 28 PP. Uterine morphometrical changes (uterine horn diameter; UHD and caruncle diameter; CD), uterine hemodynamics (resistance and pulsatility indices (RI and PI), systolic/ diastolic ratio (S/D), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), blood flow volume (BFV), and blood flow rate (BFR)), and progesterone level were evaluated. Results revealed that the diameter of the uterine horn decreased rapidly from day 1 to day 10 PP (> 50%) but more steadily from day 14 to day 28 PP in both groups. After day 21 PP, there was nearly no reduction in UHD and CD in both groups. The treated group had lower values of the RI and PI (P < 0.05) than the control group. Regarding the BFR and BFV in the treated group, there was a significant increase (P < 0.05) on day 17 PP, then started to decrease till day 28 PP. While in the control group, there was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in BFR and BFV from day 1 PP till day 28 PP. In conclusion, the incorporation of curcumin in the diet of PP Zaraibi goats improved reproductive performance via improvements in uterine morphometric changes as well as blood perfusion.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of ambient lead (Pb) exposure on progesterone (P4) and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 (PAG1) and their relationship with abortion in Egyptian Zaraibi goats (C. hircus). To achieve this, 40 female goats (does) were mated with highly fertile male goats, resulting in a total of 28 pregnant goats. Eight of them aborted, and each of the 12 pregnant goats gave birth to one kid, whereas the remaining eight gave birth to twins. The levels of PAG1, P4, and Pb in serum were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) respectively. Statistically, the repeated measure two-way ANOVA, regression analysis, correlation coefficient, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied. The current data demonstrated that the levels of blood Pb in aborted goats were significantly higher than those in non-aborted goats at the early, mid, and late gestations, and this was followed by significant decreases in serum PAG1 and P4. Furthermore, there were substantial inverse associations between blood Pb concentration and levels of PAG1 and P4, with markedly negative correlation coefficients of - 0.88 and - 0.77, respectively, in aborted goats. The threshold level of Pb required to cause abortion was ≥ 32.08 μg/dl, but for PAG1 and P4 were respectively ≤ 0.95 ng/ml and ≤ 0.48 ng/ml. Additionally, threshold levels of ≥ 12.34 ng/ml and ≥ 31.52 ng/ml for P4 and PAG1, respectively, were needed to deliver twins. In conclusion, pollution-induced increases in Pb bioavailability resulted in dramatic decreases in P4 and PAG1 levels, leading to abortions. PAG1 and P4 levels are also key factors in determining whether Zaraibi goats will give birth to twins.

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate the blood flow velocities, blood flow rate (BFR; bpm) with the accurate ratio of both systolic and diastolic velocities points (S/D) in addition to Doppler indices (resistive and pulsatility index [RI and PI]) in both fetal [fetal heart (FH), fetal abdominal aorta (Ab. A), and umbilical artery (UM.A)] and maternal [Middle uterine artery (MU.A)] sides during the last month of gestation. Ten Zaraibi (Egyptian Nubian) goats weighing 40-50kg and aged from 5-7 years were examined twice per month till reached the last month of pregnancy. Then all females were examined every 5 days starting from day -35 till day -1 before kidding.The pregnant goats were examined by ultrasonic and Doppler indices were recorded with Doppler scanning (7.5 -12 MHz, with colored and spectral graph to form the perfect wave to assess Doppler measurements). The obtained data were analyzed using analysis of variance. Results indicated that on the fetal side; the maximum point of velocity (MSV; cm/sec) in the FH and BFRwere elevated from day -35 till day -10 with a slight decline at days -5 and -1 at the peripartum period (P < 0.05), while FH.PI and S/D ratio declined till day -1(P < 0.05). In addition, the fetal Ab. A, and UM.A PI, RI, and S/D ratio declined from day -35 till day -1 at the peripartum period with a significant increase in the peak systolic velocity (PSV) and BFR(P < 0.05). However, non-significant changes in the end diastolic velocity (EDV) were detected. On the maternal side, the MU.A PI and S/D declined from day -35 till day -1 with an elevation of both PSV and BFRat the same time points (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the Doppler evaluation of fetal and maternal blood flow vessels is important to give complete information that directly affects the health status of the mother and fetus.

This study aimed to detect putative genomic loci in candidate genes associated with milk composition in Egyptian Zaraibi goats. A total number of 50 samples were tested to detect polymorphism in exons 15 and 16 of the diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene. The PCR products were sequenced and aligned. Sequence analysis showed three new genotypes in the studied samples: T1C1 (T12C SNP), T2C2 (T84C), and AG (G219A), then three groups were created: the first group was BB with C1T1 and AG genotypes, the second was DD which contains C2T2 and AG genotypes, and the third was AG with only AG genotype. GLM showed that the DD group with C84T and G219A SNPs had significantly the highest fat percent. Meanwhile, the BB group with C84T and G219A SNPs recorded significantly the highest total solids levels. On the other hand, the AG group which has G219A SNP showed a non-significant effect on milk components. Those new SNPs were submitted to GenBank and approved to be published. Moreover, translation of those sequences showed that the G219A SNP causes a substitution of Glycine to Serine in exon 16 at position 106. This SNP (G106S) was predicted to be tolerated by SIFT with a score of 0.48.

The purpose of the current study is to reconnoiter the relationships between season (birth season, BS, and kidding season, KS), reproductive traits (birth weight, BW; total litter size at birth, TLS; litter size at weaning, LSW; the number of kids dead, NKD, and; age at first kidding, AFK) and milk production (total milk yield, TMY; average daily milk yield, DMY, and; lactation period, LP), with voluntary culling risk in primiparous Zaraibi goats. Records of 637 primiparous does were collected during the period 2008-2014 from a herd of Zaraibi goats raised at the El-Serw Experimental Station, which belongs to the Animal Production Research Institute. Our data revealed that the voluntary and involuntary culling was 89.12% and 10.88%, respectively. Moreover, the BW, TLS, LSW, NKD, TMY, DMY, LP, AFK had significant effects on culling risk (p < 0.05), while both the season of birth and kidding did not exhibit significant effects on culling risk. The thinnest goats at birth were more likely to be culled compared to those with body energy reserves. Does with weaned twins and triplets kids were 9.5% (OR = 0.905) and 43% (OR = 0.570), respectively less likely to be culled compared to those with singles. Likewise, does with dead twins and triplets kids had 2.566 and 2.138 times, respectively higher odds of culling compared to those with singles. Interestingly, culling risk decreased with 74.6% (OR = 0.254), 79.8% (OR = 0.202), and 75.6% (OR = 0.244) in does with TMY, LP, and DMY more than 230 kg, 260 days, and 0.800 kg, respectively compared to their counterparts (less than 185 kg, 240 day, and 0.500 kg, respectively). Moreover, culling risk increased steadily along with increasing AFK; the animals with an AFK of more than 24 months had 2.974 times higher odds of culling compared to those with an AFK that varied between 22 and 24 months. It could be concluded that the most critical issues for higher culling probability in dairy goats were attributed to the lower TMY (<185 kg) and DMY (<0.5 kg), and shorter LP (<245 days), as well as older age at first kidding (>2 years). This putative information could be used as indicators to enhance the management and genetic approaches in dairy goats and thus sustain productivity with low cost.